Micro distribution centers are emerging all over the world. What type of forklift is most suitable for these space limited facilities?
The growth of e-commerce may have slowed down, but as evidenced by the daily parade of delivery trucks on residential streets, the demand for direct delivery to consumers remains strong. Consumers want their orders now, which puts pressure on retailers to provide fast, free delivery services from pet food to potato chips.
To meet these expectations, more and more companies are taking advantage of micro filling centers. As the name implies, these facilities are small, ranging in size from 5000 to 20000 square feet (some definitions assume that their maximum area is 10000 square feet). Because thousands of fast moving objects are crowded in a small place, the corridor is very narrow, and sometimes pedestrians and forklifts are congested.
The micro filling center can be a separate facility, attached to or located in a retail store or distribution center, or located in a front store. In order to optimize the delivery time of the last kilometer and reduce transportation costs, they are usually located in densely populated areas. As they only store enough stock for a day or two, they need to replenish frequently, which increases congestion.
So. Large quantities, narrow areas, and time constraints. What type of forklift is most suitable for these conditions? The following are some considerations when selecting equipment.
Basic considerations
Bill Pedriana, chief marketing officer of forklift manufacturer Big Joe (a brand owned by Zhongli), said that in a space constrained environment, three design considerations are particularly important: compact size and turning radius for mobility in a narrow space; Lower forklift weight to reduce the possibility of injury in places with many potential "pinch points"; And the operator has a high degree of control at the slower travel speed required in narrow, high flow areas.
The ease of operation is also important. Not all micro filling centers have a dedicated forklift driver -- the only job is forklift operation. George Towne, the major customer, retail and e-commerce director of Yale Material Handling Company (yale), said: "In the small center attached to the retail store, I saw that they used many people who also worked in the store."
"Of course, they have received forklift training, but they switch back and forth between different jobs. When the operator is not a full-time expert, it is important that the forklift control is" highly intuitive and highly accurate. " Pedriana said.
In many cases, 名媛直播 have been broken down into orders of delivery size, or provided equipment or queuing for delivery routes, so employees will have fewer tasks to deal with than large distribution centers, said Bill Byrd, senior manager of national customer sales of TOYOTA. In addition, although large distribution centers often need different types of forklifts to handle specific product configurations or different storage systems, this rarely happens in these small facilities. For these reasons, he said, "You may want a multi-functional forklift that can handle most or all of the tasks you need to do.".
However, this does not mean that every micro filling center should rely on a single type of lift truck. "Tim Osmulski, head of supply chain and logistics department of Raymond, a forklift manufacturer, warned:" If you do not use the correct equipment for an application. It will make the driver's work more time-consuming, thus slowing down the operation speed, which is exactly what you do not want to see in the high-speed environment. "
Designed for small spaces
Lifting platforms such as WAVE of Cologne Equipment Company are very popular in the retail background and micro distribution center.
Among the smallest facilities, such as retail back office and urban fulfillment sites, MPEP is very popular. Specially designed for narrow space (a model in the market is as narrow as 32 inches) and light load, they are considered as safer and more efficient alternatives to the traditional roller ladders for carrying out tasks such as inventory and order picking in the warehouse. MPEP essentially combines the properties of the elevating work platform and order picker, but they are much smaller than full size order pickers, and there is no requirement for overhead protective devices or safety belts. MPEP examples provided by forklift manufacturers include Wave of Crown, Order Selector Quick Pick of Clark, Sprint 2.0 of Raymond and Joe of Big Joe.
In addition to the orders prepared by the consumers, the micro distribution center also handles the warehousing cartons and pallets, so the motorized single-layer and multi-layer pallet trucks are widely used. Towne said that the Walkie type eliminates the need for operators to jump up and down forklifts when picking orders, and is suitable for facilities that do not use them all day, rather than a high-throughput environment where employees keep picking orders. A ride model that reduces travel time and operator physical stress is useful when medium to long distance horizontal transportation is required.
Paul Short, president of Combilit North America, noted that for safety reasons, small facilities with narrow passages and a large amount of pedestrian traffic usually do not need many riding equipment, but prefer walking equipment specially designed for narrow passages.)
The side mounted tiller arm of COMBILIFT can move the operator away from the "collision zone" between the rear of the forklift and the shelf.
Two examples of pallet carriers designed specifically for confined spaces include Comby's walking stacker, which operates from the side rather than the back; Another one is from Toyota Material Handling, which can run at a lower speed when the control handle is tilted only 10 degrees.
For narrow passages with medium high and high shelves, the selection considerations include the width of forklift operation space, the speed of product in and out, the height and depth of the shelves, and whether the forklift is only used for one or more. Said Michael Brunnet, warehouse and system forklift sales manager of Mitsubishi Logisnex America and product line expert of the company and Jungheinrich.
The order picker of the lifting operator is most efficient when the operator picks individual items on a medium or elevated scale and then brings them to the facility of the packing station. Maximum heights vary, but more than 30 feet are common.
Three wheel balanced standing and sitting forklifts are very popular in the mini distribution center for post store operation and fast moving 名媛直播. This configuration has a smaller turning radius than a four-wheel forklift and is highly maneuverable. According to Brunnet, these forklifts usually provide a stacking height of 15 to 18 feet and work best in aisles 11 to 13 feet wide.
Byrd of Toyota said that the vertical balanced forklift with a capacity of 3000 pounds worked well when the pallet was not very heavy and the 名媛直播 were in and out quickly. These forklifts are versatile: they can unload trailers, transport pallets, and store 名媛直播 on double height shelves, he pointed out. They are compact, easy for operators to get on and off, and they can handle mixed pallets that are common in micro distribution centers.
For high-density storage in an eight to nine foot wide aisle, straddle stackers (usually with a lifting height of 10 to 16 feet) or forward moving trucks (20 to 40 feet or more) should be on the candidate list. In fact, "the forward moving forklift was invented for this purpose!" Susan Comfort, senior manager of Raymond's technology solutions and marketing, said that both types of forklifts have "straddle" legs on the base, which helps stabilize the forklift when supporting the load. This design allows a shorter chassis and sharp turning radius, she pointed out.
Among the narrowest aisles, VNA (very narrow aisle) equipment is the only way. The turret forklift can be lifted to 60 feet, and can follow the track, wire or repeater on the set path. It is an option for the highest shelf. When mobility is important to productivity, articulated forklifts are highly efficient; The operator can rotate the fork, mast and front wheel as a whole to shorten the length profile of the forklift and allow the fork to enter and exit the shelf at right angles to the chassis. Combilit's Aisle Master is an example. It can run efficiently in aisles as narrow as 6 feet. The other is the Flexi product line of Narrow Aisle Inc.
Safety and ergonomics
The design features and technologies aimed at narrow and crowded environment can help the micro distribution center improve the safety of operators and pedestrians. An example of the former is the tiller arm of the electric control device, which is the standard configuration of all walking forklifts in Combilift. The tiller arm allows the operator to drive the vehicle from the left or right side of the machine rather than from the rear. Short said that this allows the operator to stay away from the dangerous "squeeze zone" between the rear of the forklift and the shelf during shelving or picking, and can better see the forks and the load.
In terms of technology, pedestrian detection systems are being used more widely. Examples include Toyota's SenS intelligent environment sensor, which uses cameras to detect human activities behind forklifts and send visual and audible alarms to operators; Yonghengli's Personal Protection System (PPS), which uses sensors to detect pedestrians and slow or stop forklifts when needed; A module of the Yale Reliant operator assistance system can detect transmitter labels on pedestrians and other forklifts and slow the forklifts, allowing operators more time to turn or stop when needed. Some security systems, including those of Yale University, also provide object detection and real-time position sensing, allowing users to set location based rules, such as equipment exclusion zones and deceleration at the end of aisles.
Brunnet said that, in essence, technology can reduce some decision-making and make certain operations fail safe, and can help operators safely use equipment in narrow crowded spaces with limited visibility. He gave an example of a guidance system, which includes an RFID (radio frequency identification) transponder embedded in the floor. When the VNA and turret forklift of Evergrande are located in the aisle, the system will disconnect the steering and stop them before they leave the aisle. Walkways.
Similarly, Yale Reliant's advanced operator awareness system, Towne, describes it as "just like having a trainer and operator in the car"), which can help the driver operate c. The system monitors the forklift speed, load position, load weight and steering angle to calculate the combined center of gravity of the forklift and load. This allows the solution to safely adjust forklift performance when factors such as speed, fork height, or weight exceed specified thresholds.
A logical question is whether ergonomics and operator comfort must be sacrificed in a space constrained environment. Combilift's shorts emphasize no. The company's Aisle Master VNA forklift is "as comfortable as a seated counterweight forklift", and this is intentional, he said. "We don't think comfort should be sacrificed," he explained. Of course, the main reason is to respect the well-being of operators. The other is that when the forklift is comfortable and ergonomic, the operator's efficiency and productivity are higher.
However, some people may prefer to equate "small space" with "very basic". Osmulski of Raymond saw small and busy facilities trying to use only manual pallet carriers. However, it is very hard for the body to move the load with manual equipment all day long. From the perspective of ergonomics, the electric pallet carrier is very worth the extra cost, in his opinion.
However, in applications with short usage time and light load, buyers with limited budget may decide to give up some comfort. 5. Mariotti Srl claims to make "the smallest compact rider in the world", and provides a forklift model, "without additional comfort features", which is more expensive (but still very small).
Automation or not?
Unmanned forklifts and autonomous mobile robots (AMR) have become ubiquitous in large e-commerce fulfillment centers, but this is unlikely to happen in micro fulfillment centers. According to Short's experience, for small facilities, the cost of automated setup and integration will not be reduced much. However, he also pointed out that when micro fulfillment is located in a larger DC that already has the necessary equipment, technical systems and infrastructure, automation is more economically meaningful and less risky.
Most importantly, successful automation requires "repetitive actions, load commonality and load integrity" - these are not characteristics of most micro fulfillment centers, Brunnet said. He added that autonomous vehicle may also need more permits than many pedestrian intensive mini distribution centers.
However, some people do see a place for automatic forklifts in small facilities. Raymond's Comfort believes that humans can be redeployed to unconventional tasks even if they are used in limited applications. Pedriana of Big Joe said that automating simple workflow can also eliminate the need for employees to move from one task to another, which is a common (and disruptive) situation in small facilities. He added that semi-automatic machines to supplement manpower might be a practical option without fully automated capital expenditure. For example, employees working in the picking module can place orders on automatic forklifts such as Big Joe's "BUD" user controlled pallet carriers and send them to the packaging station without leaving the picking area.
Byrd believes that it will take many years for us to see a large number of forklift automation in direct consumer oriented fulfillment. "Unless we have better machine learning capabilities, so that automatic forklifts can identify packages and loads with different types, sizes and shape characteristics," he said, driverless forklifts are unlikely to be widely recognized in small e-commerce environments.
